The invention relates to an inverted microscope for transmitted light, incident light, or combined transmitted light and incident light illumination.
Microscopes according to the construction of Le Chatelier, so-called "inverted" or "inverse" microscopes, are already known. For example, an inverted microscope is described and shown in the Leitz advertising material: "Inverted incident light microscope LEITZ EPIVERT" (Cat. No. 11.520.036 b, June 1978), where the basic body comprises a stand base with a lens turret, a vertical stand support mounted on the stand base, a level-adjustable object table coordinated to the stand support, a binocular housing attached on the top to the stand support, as well as a lamp housing attachable from the side to the front face of the base stand.
Also, a light microscope of inverted construction is known from the German Petit Patent DE-GM 7,628,471, which comprises a "U"-shaped basic body, where there is provided on the one "U"-arm a binocular housing, the attachment face of which is provided at the level of the object stage. A level-adjustable, tiltable, transillumination device is provided on the other "U"-arm of the body. A lens turret is disposed between the "U"-arms and is adjustable relative to the locally fixed object stage.
Furthermore, a transmission inverted microscope is also known from the Zeiss(Jena) manufacturer publication "TELAVAL" (IV 14-48 Ag 29/166/69 9830), where the "L"-shaped basic body comprises a stand base with a lens turret attached to its one side and where a vertical stand support is attached on the other side of the stand base. The upper side of the stand support is provided with a binocular housing and with a support for the illumination unit. The object stage can be adjusted with respect to its height level and is disposed at the stand support.
A transmission inverted microscope is known from the Reichert company publication "BIOVERT" (23,1 1. BIOVERT K I-II 4/71), which comprises a compact, rectangular parallelepipedal base body resting on a base plate. A photo-binotube is disposed at the upper end face of the basic body. The attachment surface of the photo-binotube is situated above in the plane of the object stage.
Finally, a device is known from the Olympus manufacturer publication "OLYMPUS Inverted Tissue Culture Microscope IMT" (M 35 E-676B), which substantially conforms in its main construction principles with the above-mentioned microscope types.
The following disadvantages are associated individually or in combination with the known microscope types:
(1) The observer is prevented or at least impeded in the free, direct view of the sample, or the object plane in operating position, respectively, because of the apparatus geometry employed with this known construction principle. Direct viewing is obstructed as follows: PA1 (2) No possibility exists for directly handling and manipulating the object to be investigated from the direction of the observer. PA1 (3) Flange mountable or tiltable transillumination devices, or attachable incident light devices are positioned such that they are disposed either at a relatively small distance from the observer and/or to the microscopic object, which, in particular, renders more difficult routine, long duration microscopy. In addition, this construction can lead to undesired influencing of special biological preparations (cultures and so on) based on heat development. In some cases, the illuminating devices are attached on the side of the base part of the total apparatus directed to the observer, which results in a substantial limitation of free and ergonomically proper microscoping positions of the observer, in particular during continuous operation. This construction is an impediment during manipulation of the object, or during the routine performance of the usual microscope operating functions.
(a) by the binocular housing (Olympus, Leitz), PA2 (b) by microphotographic attachments adapted to the photoconnection of the binocular housing (Reichert), PA2 (c) by the supports for transmitted light devices, which are mounted on the stand support (Zeiss-Jena), or PA2 (d) by the stand support itself (Leitz, Zeiss-Jena).